Rutgers Rewind (Rutgers 38, Norfolk St. 0)

BEST PLAY: Any inkling that Norfolk St. would claw back into the game were erased on its first second half drive as Jamal Merrell picked off Spartans quarterback Marcell Stokes at the Spartans’ 30-yard line. The result was a 6-play, 30-yard drive, culminating with a Savon Huggins 1-yard touchdown run and a 28-0 lead following the Kyle Federico extra point.

WORST PLAY: Rutgers was up 21-0 without Nova being asked to do much through the air. On second-and-9 from his own 45, he was picked off by junior linebacker Marcell Coke, who returned the ball to the 36. The interception was the only glaring mistake in an otherwise vanilla afternoon for Nova, who finished 12-for-21 for 150 yards, a touchdown pass and an interception.

THUMBS UP: The student section in the south end zone, often maligned for not showing up on time or sometimes at all, showed up in full force on Saturday for the home opener as all 8,500 student tickets were claimed well ahead of game day….Red-shirt sophomore running back Paul James did not disappoint in his first collegiate start, carrying 12 times for 69 yards and two touchdowns in the first half on his way to a 18-carry, 119-yard afternoon….Rutgers is now 10-0 all-time against the MEAC, outscoring the opposition, 405-36, in the 10 wins.

THUMBS DOWN: Norfolk St. used Stokes to punt late in the first quarter on third down, a rarity at any level of football. Backup quarterback Tyler Clark also punted on third down early in the fourth quarter….An otherwise dominant defensive first half for Rutgers saw one big play yielded, a 36-yard run from Rolandan Finch on third-and-8 from the Norfolk St. 4….Stokes was 0-for-7 passing in the first quarter, was replaced in the second quarter by Tyler Clark and came back in the second half to finish 0-for-10 with an interception.

TURNING POINT: Having forced Norfolk St. to punt for the second time in an as many drives to open the game, Quron Pratt broke through the line and blocked the Dalton Fraser kick. Anthony Cioffi handled the ball on an odd bounce and returned to the Spartans’ 15-yard line. The ensuing Rutgers possession was a 5-play, 15-yard drive, capped by Paul James’ first career rushing touchdown from one yard out to open the scoring.

BY THE NUMBERS

0: Number of career touchdowns James and Ruhann Peele had when the game started. James, a red-shirt sophomore running back and Peele, a red-shirt freshman wide receiver, accounted for all three Scarlet Knights touchdowns in the first quarter for a 21-0 lead. James had touchdown runs of 1 and 10, which were sandwiched around Peele hauling in an 8-yard Gary Nova pass over the middle for a score. James finished with three rushing touchdowns, the first Scarlet Knight running back to do so since Jourdan Brooks in 2009.

32: Number of kicks Rutgers has blocked since 2009 following Pratt’s blocked punt. That is the most blocked kicks by any team in the nation over that time period.

46: Average of three Nick Marsh punts in the first half. All three punts landed inside the Norfolk St. 20, while one was downed at the 1 and another rolled out of bounds at the 2. For the game, Marsh averaged 42.8 yards on six punts.

276: Number of consecutive minutes Rutgers has held Football Championship Subdivision teams scoreless. The last FCS team to score on the Scarlet Knights was Howard, which lost, 45-7, at Rutgers on Sept. 12, 2009.

330,000: Amount in dollars Rutgers paid Norfolk St. to show up in Piscataway, according to a Rutgers official.

NEXT GAME: Rutgers will host Eastern Michigan (1-1) on Saturday afternoon in the second of three straight home games. Eric LeGrand’s No. 52 jersey will be retired at halftime.

About Josh Newman

Josh Newman has worked for the Press since September 2004 and began covering Shore Conference sports full time in September 2006. He is a 2004 graduate of Springfield College with a degree in communications/sports journalism.

Follow Scarlet Scuttlebutt on Twitter and Facebook

Move your mouse over a day

Scarlet Nation's original spring practice preview series returns with a complete rundown of the team position by position. We'll start things off with a look at the quarterback position and how it is shaping up heading into a new season of Rutgers football.

Spring camp is important for everyone involved with Rutgers football, but some players proved themselves long before the snow (hopefully) melts this spring. We take a look at five proven players for Rutgers and who is in line for the "Brian Leonard treatment" this April.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- In a group setting before practice at the RAC, senior guard Myles Mack discussed his standing in the school history books and his decision to stay through an agonizing coaching change as he prepares for his final home game in a Rutgers uniform.

The two squads were a combined 0-3. It's never a good sign when you lose to an in-state opponent. And both the men and women did just that, losing to Monmouth. What concerns me even more in the case of the men is that it was Monmouth's first win...ever. Monmouth is in its second year […]

Tweets and articles and finger pointing. And a letter from President Barchi to Senator Lesniak. A week ago today, our Dave White posted an article here about things a-happenin' regarding basketball facilities. The news was apparently very gloomy about hoops and facility upgrades. But things were percolating. And then a white knight was apparently on […]

Tymir Oliver, a three-star defensive end out of Philadelphia, is set to visit Rutgers on Monday (NJ.com, March 1). Oliver, a 265-pound junior from West Catholic Preparatory High School, will visit the school with his mother. While he has already secured offers from Boston College, Pitt, Virginia, Connecticut, UMass and Temple, the Scarlet Knights are currently […]

About the Author

Jerry CarinoJerry Carino has covered sports for the Gannett New Jersey newspapers since 1996 and has been on the college basketball beat since 2003. A native of Old Bridge, he also teaches journalism at Kean University.E-mail Jerry

Josh NewmanJosh Newman has worked for the Press since September 2004 and began covering Shore Conference sports full time in September 2006. He is a 2004 graduate of Springfield College with a degree in communications/sports journalism.E-mail Josh

Ryan DunleavyRyan Dunleavy has covered Rutgers athletics for more than a decade, dating back to his days as a student at his alma mater. He became New Jersey Press Media’s Rutgers women’s basketball beat writer in 2009 and Rutgers football beat writer in 2013. Since joining the staff in 2004, the Morris County native also has covered the NFL, MLB, NBA, the Somerset Patriots and high school sports.E-mail Ryan